This invention relates generally to clothing, and more specifically to garments of the type worn by medical personnel in operating rooms, and other applications.
To create a proper working environment, medical operating rooms are usually maintained at a certain temperature which is often relatively cold to offset hot lighting, to keep stressed doctors and nurses comfortable while working, and/or to inhibit the spread of bacteria. In most hospitals, medical personnel are forbidden from bringing street clothing into the operating room. In some cases, anesthesiologists, nurses and any other personnel in the operating room who are not scrubbed in may wear a medical or hospital issue warm up jacket over their scrubs; however, these garments do not keep the wearer at a comfortable temperature. Excessive layers of garments are also counterproductive in the operating room, since they may restrict the mobility or dexterity of the personnel. On the other hand, limbs and fingers tend to get stiff when the body is cold.
Anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists, perioperative nurses, and others participating in the operating room need their body to be at a comfortable level of temperature and dexterity to perform their functions over many hours. Additionally, medical personnel suffering from hormonal changes often have abnormal body temperature perceptions while participating in surgery. One example is post menopausal women, who suffer from periodic drastic perceived changes in body temperature and often feel much warmer than other individuals in the same room. Also, the surgical treatment of burn patients or pediatric patients usually requires the operating or treating room to be warmer than average for the patient's benefit. These situations have created a need for alternative measures for keeping medical personnel, or other users comfortable.